The Grand River Watershed awards were presented people who have undertaken projects to enhance the natural environment in the Grand River watershed on Sept.16.
This year, there was one Honour Roll award and five Watershed awards given.
Community Conservation grants were also presented to community groups and schools for projects to be undertaken in the coming year. Videos about the award recipients will be available by clicking the youtube button on www.grandriver.ca. Stories about each of the watershed recipients will be sent through to media outlets within the next few days.
Honour Roll award
Allan Holmes, Guelph The 2010 Honour Roll Watershed award recipient is Allan Holmes, who was the Chief Administrative Officer of the GRCA from 1991 to 2000.
He led the organization with passion, commitment and integrity through a difficult time of change and severe funding cutbacks.
In spite those challenges, it was a time of many major successes: 75 kilometres of rail-trails were developed; in 1994, the Grand River was designated as a Canadian Heritage River; and in 2000, the prestigious International Thiess Riverprize was awarded to the GRCA and its partners for excellence in river management.
That award was from the International Riverfoundation in Australia and it was the second river in the world to receive that honour. Holmes played a lead role in turning the Grand River around, making it a river with a future. Beyond all of that, Holmes was a friend and mentor who inspired many at the GRCA and beyond.
Watershed awards
Clare Rennie: The quiet leader behind the Guelph Rotary Forest, Rennie, heard a presentation in 2006 about water-related issues, including the importance of forests, made by Paul Emerson, the former CAO of the GRCA.
He then took on the challenge of increasing local forest cover, inspiring many others to do the same. Rennie spearheaded a special project for the 100th anniversary of the Guelph Rotary Club in 2020 to plant 60,000 trees over 12 years across from the Guelph Lake Nature Centre.
Forest planting started in 2007, and a quarter of the trees are now growing in the 40-hectare forest.
Paul and Steve Cressman: They have planted more than 7,000 trees on their two farms near New Hamburg. They have planted the trees in rows, creating 4.5 km of windbreaks to separate their fields of corn, wheat, and soybeans. The old way of thinking is that trees get in the way of farming, but the Cressmans believe trees are integral to good farm management and offer many environmental benefits that extend far beyond the farm itself.
They also planted trees along Wilmot Creek which runs through their property.
Ducks Unlimited Canada: It has been working for more than three decades to return lost wetland habitat to the Grand River watershed. The small organization has invested $1.6-million in 80 wetland projects in the GRCA watershed alone. Those projects total 1,900 square hectares. DUC works as a partner with the GRCA and many land owners to educate and install wetlands on private and public land. It has contributed funds and staff time to acquire land for wetlands and provides expertise in constructing wetlands. DUC has worked on wetland projects in Brant, Wellington, Waterloo, Oxford, and Haldimand.
Chuck Beach: Chuck Beach is rallying people and organizations to ensure the environment is a top concern for everyone in Brantford. Since retiring in 2004 from S. C. Johnson, where he implemented many environmental programs, Beach has volunteered on several committees related to environmental initiatives. The most notable of those is the Earth Day events committee of which he is chairman. It is an umbrella organization that promotes Earth Day events including tree planting, school yard greening, public education and city clean ups.
Wellington Green Legacy: Wellington County’s Green Legacy program started in 2004 with the simple idea that the county would plant 150,000 trees in Wellington that year to help celebrate the county’s 150th anniversary.
The anniversary is long gone, but Green Legacy has continued to grow and plant trees to become what the county believes is now the largest municipal tree planting program in North America. It has added 1,000 trees to its planting effort every year, and will plant its millionth tree on Oct. 3 at the Wellington County Museum, where the first tree was planted. Almost more important than getting trees in the ground is getting thousands of volunteers and school children to participate, creating a connection with nature and thousands of stewards of the land in Wellington County.
Community grants
Each year, the GRCA and the Grand River Conservation Foundation presents Community Conservation Grants.
The money for the grants comes from two foundation endowment funds: The Thiess Riverprize fund and the Grand Champions fund. The Thiess fund was established with the GRCA’s cash award when it was named the world’s top watershed management agency in 2000. The Grand Champions Fund holds the foundation’s endowment donations.
Community groups:
– Tallgrass Ontario, Brant- Eden Mills Millpond Conservation Association Inc., Eden Mills ($250);
Schools will receive $500 for school yard naturalization projects. Those projects will take place over the coming year. Local schools getting the grants include:
– Arthur Public School, Arthur ($500); and
– Trillium Waldorf School, Guelph ($250).
